Hopeless Hero
by LilManiac
Summary: Something is going on in the city... the Foot are active again, but they're not following their usual pattern. Will Jade and the turtles be able to figure it out, before it's too late?
1. Helping Out

**Okay, so I admit... I watched the new turtles movie and LOOOVED it. And it inspired me to do a little something... so, here it is.**

 **Not putting it as a crossover cause I don't know if it really counts as one. If it does, please feel free to let me know!  
**

 **These turtles are based on the recent movie turtles as well... just so you know :D**

 **Oh, and enjoy!**

 **-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

I watched Donnie intently as he shifted his glasses up again, tapping furiously away at his keyboard. I half wondered what he was doing, but knew it was probably was best to leave him to it for now. I'd just come down to the lair straight from school, and was hoping for some time with Donnie, but I was kind of starting to second guess my decision. It looked important whatever he was working on...

I'd only just recently moved to this city, both because of my dads new job, as well as for Donnie. We'd been dating officially for a few months, and he always found ways to surprise me.

My name, by the way, is Jade. My tale is weird and twisted, but the one thing you need to know about me is that I am a shifter.

Yes, a shape shifter. I can become anything you can think of. I can become an animal, a chair... even things like a tree...

Crazy, right?

Well, I thought that was the worst that it got. But then I fought aliens. Not just one lot of nasty buggers, but two. I thought I could never find anything more insane, until...

"Jade?"

I jerked a little, looking up and surprised to find Donnie giving me a small smile.

"Oh, yeah?"

"What you doing over there?" He asked, indicating I come over. I couldn't help but smile, getting off the couch and moving to stand beside him. Immediately he grabbed me by the waist and pulled me onto his lap, making me yelp a little.

Before I could say anything, I was pulled close and lips were now against mine. I returned the kiss, my arms sliding up and around his neck.

Donnie... my ninja turtle.

Well, to be correct, he was a teenage mutant ninja turtle. One of four turtles. And a large rat we all called Splinter.

I know, weird right? Well me and my team thought so too at first. But over time, and going through a big battle and a lot of mess, we drew closer to all of them, and I... well, I fell for one. Big time.

Turns out, he fell for me too during it.

He pulled away, shifting his glasses up and smiling at me, those beautiful green eyes of his looking beautiful behind those lenses.

"What was that for?" I managed to get out, my hands slipping down to his chest as I pulled away a little.

"No reason" He responded, pulling me close again. I raised an eyebrow.

"What, can't I kiss my girlfriend?" He asked, the last word his voice went a little high pitched, doing his cute little snort. I shook my head, moving up and pulling his goggles off, kissing his forehead before moving to get up with them.

He grabbed me gently again, pulling me back down onto his waist and making me giggle a little.

"And where are yoooou going?" He tried to grab his goggles, but I moved them out of his grasp, half kicking my leg out a little as I moved back.

"Soomewhere?" I responded in the same tone.

"No you don't" Suddenly I was grasping at air, and he had moved to put his goggles back on his head.

"Hey!"

"You two make me sick" Came the grumble, and we turned to see Raph come into the room, shaking his head.

"You can talk" I retorted, moving to get off Donnie's lap, instead being pulled back down "You and Rach do the same thing all the time"

"Yeah but-" A shrill beeping made me almost leap off Donnie, him seeming to not notice as he turned to the screens in front of him.

"The hell?" Was all I could ask as he tapped away, seeing Raph had come up behind me.

"Oh no, trouble!"

"What's going on" Leo now appeared, making me jump a little. Sneaky ninjas...

"Yeah like, where's the party at?" Now Mikey made a miraculous entrance, startling me again.

"You guys..." I muttered, my attention now turning to the screens.

"Oh no, guys! It's the Foot! They're in the Space Museum! Looks like they're taking hostages!"

"What, in the afternoon?" I looked over his shoulder "What the hell is there that they'd even want?"

"I don't know, but we're going to stop them" Leo tapped Donnie on the shoulder, he and the other two following Leo towards the entrance.

I just stood there, not really knowing what to do. Did they want me to go with them? I wasn't really-

"Hey, Jade" '

I looked up, surprised to see Leo smiling at me, the other three going to grab their weapons.

"Wha?" Was all I could get out.

"You comin or what?"

"Oh, so you... sure thing!"

I got my legs moving, running after four now as they all took off towards the door.

"Let's do this!"

Looks like I was back in the game _._

 _-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-x-_

I watched as Leo and the others stopped near an old water tower, on what looked like the highest of several buildings that made up the museum.

Leo looked up, indicating I go join them, so I tucked my wings, diving down and landing neatly beside them. Then... I shifted back.

Feathers gave way soft skin, toes became feet, and finally, my beak softened, becoming my nose and mouth once again. As soon as I was myself, everyone's attention was back on our task.

"Okay, security's down, we should be able to get in" Donnie pulled up his blue screen, pacing as he worked "But, Leo, how are we-"

"I haven't thought that far ahead" Leo admitted, looking around at all of us, turning back and stopping at me.

I couldn't help but smirk "You want me to go in and scope the place, right?"

"Think you can do it?"

I waved my hand dismissively "Puh-lease. Is your bandanna blue?"

He raised an eyebrow, smiling at me in spite of himself and shaking his head a little, before turning to nod at Donnie.

"Okay, Jade, they're taking hostages in _this_ building" Donnie was suddenly beside me, showing me the building on his blue screen. I looked at the blueprint, then over at the actual building. From what I could see, it was a fairly large building, with a huge skylight in the top of it. There were other parts I saw sectioned off it as well.

"Okay, gotcha"

"We need you to scope it out, then report to us. But _don't_ engage them" Leo was now there, looking down at me. I gave him a half salute.

"You can count on me Capt'n"

I heard Raph groan a little, and Mikey do his usual giggle, before I moved back from them, towards what I knew to be the edge of the building.

"Jade, be caref-" I heard Donnie gasp as I fell backwards, already starting to shift into eagle. I opened my wings when I was done, gliding mere feet over another building, before heading towards and reaching my destination.

(I'm all right, don't panic) I told them, knowing I'd just scared the snot out of all of them as I landed on the roof, starting to shift back to human. Once I did, I put the little device Donnie and Ithiell had made into my ear, feeling the little device crackle to life.

"You better be" I jumped a little as I heard Donnie's voice almost immediately through the earpiece.

"Well, I'm walking and talking"

"Jade!"

"All right, I'm on it Leo. I'll report in as soon as I know something" I moved towards the door on the top of the roof, trying to yank it but finding it was locked.

"You know you could have-"

I rolled my eyes "Donnie, I got this... remember?"

He mumbled something but I was already shifting something small to get under the door.

Shape shifting isn't as easy as you think it might be. Alot of concentration is involved in just being able to shift into a single form.

Fortunately for me, I'd had almost seven years to get it right.

Unfortunately, one of the very few things that could get under a giant fire door was a cockroach. And those things are just... gross...

When I was done I scrabbled under the door, shifting back to myself when I was done, ducking behind a corner as I saw something moving down the stairs.

"Okay, we have lost visual on you" Donnie reported.

"All good, I'm inside. Going to radio silence" I whispered as I peeked around the corner, relieved to see it was just some sort of banner moving slightly at the end of the stairs. I could tell the stairs themselves was roped off down the bottom. Probably to stop people from-

"Affirmative. Call us if you need us" Came Leo's voice, and then all went silent on their end.

Good. I'd need concentration now.

Slowly, I slid down the stairs, my back against the wall as I did, not seeing anyone in my direct line of sight. I reached the bottom, peaking out from the side I was leaning against, then looking slowly out the other side, my ears straining to hear anything.

Carefully, I lifted my legs over the rope, slipping a little and almost falling over but managing to right myself, looking ahead of me, then up and down the hallway on either side of me, still not seeing or hearing anything.

I thought they said they were taking hostages, so... where was all the noise?

A feeling of dread was now in the pit of my stomach, wondering if maybe this was a trap for the turtles, or...

Or if we were too late...

No, Donnie would have told me something if it was...

I moved towards what I saw as another set of stairs, peeking around the corner and straining my ears before finally starting to make my way down.

A scream made me jump, hugging the wall next to me as I saw a girl about my age crash to the floor at the bottom of the stairs, then someone was grabbing her, hauling her backwards.

"Get back here!" Came the gruff voice as the girl screamed, then I heard a thump as what I guessed was her hitting the ground.

I bit back a yelp as a gunshot went off, and I finally heard other people crying out in terror.

"Callie!"

"Oh my god!"

No...

"So, anyone else want to try and escape?" Came the authoritative female voice, and mumbles came from the hostages.

"Good!"

I heard crying, my mouth going dry and realising they must have shot... that poor girl...

"Jade, are you okay?" My earpiece crackled to life. But I couldn't move... I felt like I'd failed her... the look on her face as she'd...

"Jade, we need to-"

"Shh!" Was all that came out of me, quietly mind you, hearing what I guessed was members of the foot walking around near scared hostages.

Had to shift...

"Sounds like she's all right, but I heard a gunshot" Donnie muttered in my ear, and I fought to keep quiet as I finally decided to move down the rest of the stairs, my body already starting to shrink. I'd be noticed if I went down there as a human...

So, mouse it was.

A tail sprouted from my spine, and I fell forward on little paws as my ears crawled up to the sides of my head, my nose pushing out and whiskers sprouting.

Soon I was fully shifted, hitting the last step and taking in the situation.

There were a good twenty hostages lined up against the walls, with what looked like at least ten or so of the black clad Foot clan around them, some of them pointing guns or swinging another kind of weapon around. I saw a few walking up and down with what looked like machine guns, and then my eyes rested on the voice of the woman I guessed I'd heard from before.

Her black hair was tied tightly back, and she was holding a small pistol, pointing it either at the ceiling or any hostages that made any sort of noise. She smiled every time she made one of the hostages react. Her armor looked specially designed, and I could only guess she was the leader of this motley crew.

(Guys? I don't know if you can hear me, but the situation's bad. They have-) I stopped when I saw the lifeless body of the poor girl strewn on the floor, and I could see a pool of blood beginning to form...

That poor girl never had a chance...

"Why?" One man asked "Why are you _doing_ this?"

"Shut up!" She pointed the gun at him, hearing him whimper.

I took that moment to jump off the last step, pushing my little legs for all they were worth and skidding behind an exhibit they had there. Some kind of pod or something? I wasn't sure...

Thankfully no one saw me, and no one was around this side of the exhibit. I started to shift back, listening intently. I knew... once I was human again the turtles would be able to hear what was going on though my earpiece...

"But... that poor girl, she didn't do anything to you!" Came another voice, and I heard what sounded like a crack, the person behind that voice crying out.

"Callie, not... CALLIE!"

"Shut up!" One of the male members of the foot said.

"What is _wrong_ with you people?!" Came a female's voice this time, and then she screamed, a low growl coming from the Foot clan leader.

I took a chance to peek around what I was hiding behind, shocked to see a poor woman had been dragged up, and now the Leader from the Footclan had her in a half headlock, the gun now pointed straight at her head.

"Do you _really_ want another death?! This ends when _I_ say it does!"

 _Dammit..._

"Oh that doesn't sound good" Mikey muttered from somewhere, and I couldn't help but agree silently.

"No, please don't!" The woman cried, trying to fight her hold "I have kids!"

I felt the rage boiling inside of me, knowing these people were killing innocent bystanders in whatever their game was.

"Think that bothers me?" The Leader growled, pushing the gun further into her head.

"Don't, please" She pleaded again, trying to break free.

"Leave her alone!" Someone screamed, and then another cry as that person was hit. My eyes were glued on this poor woman...

"You know what... I changed my mind... I might just make another example for all of you..."

She pushed the gun further into the woman's head, taking the safety off...

I knew Leo had warned me about getting involved, but I couldn't... I just... I couldn't do nothing!

"Hey!" The words exploded from me before I could stop them,watching as every eye now turned to me. I moved to stand up, watching as Leader looked me up and down as I came into view.

"Oh, and what do we have here" She yanked the woman close, hearing her cry out in pain. But her eyes were now trained on me...

"Let.. her... go" I growled, balling my hands into fists.

"Oh crap!"

"Jade you idi-"

"Turtles, go!"

"And why would I do that, _little girl_?" She smiled at me.

"Take me instead. Let her and the other hostages go"

Surprisingly, she threw the woman to the ground, but I'd caught her head nod before she did. My head snapped around to see my first opponent, throwing my arm out. It caught him in the throat, knocking him down and hearing him groan behind his mask.

I spun as another came at me, barely being able to defend myself as the blows came at me lightning fast. I threw a blind kick, catching them in the shin, before feeling something being smashed right into my back, making me cry out and hit the ground painfully.

Before I knew it I was being dragged up onto my knees, someone behind me grabbing me around the throat. In seconds I felt the cool metal against my temple, a soft voice now in my other ear.

"So we have a little wannabe hero... how _cute_ " She said the last word with disgust.

I fought her arm, pulling at her arm and loosing it just enough to breathe "Bitch, you have no idea what I can do"

She laughed, then "Well I bet you can't beat a bullet right through the skull"

"No!"

The skylight above us suddenly exploded, glass shattering and falling around us. The distraction gave me the chance to grab the gun with my free hand, wrangling it out of her grasp and throwing her over my shoulder, seeing her hit the floor and hearing everyone scream.

I punched her hard, knocking her out as I heard the turtles hit the ground, all of them taking off towards their opponents.

I looked up, seeing Leo's katanas slicing through the air with deadly accuracy. Donnie's Bo was cracking mercilessly through the air, and I saw Raph almost leap over his brother, kicking and punching as hard as he could. Mikey ran by me then, and I saw his nunchucks whip through the air, smashing his opponents and knocking them to the ground.

All were yelling out battle cries, none of them showing any kind of mercy to our enemies.

I stood up, looking around to see the hostages were trying to cover themselves, thankfully none of them looking at the fight that was happening around them. They were all so terrified-

There was a shout, and I turned, seeing an opponent coming at me, some kind of weapon raised over his head to bring it down on my head.

On instinct, I ran at him, throwing my fist forward and punching as hard as I could. I hit him squarely in the neck, making him drop his weapon, grabbing his throat as I spun, doing a roundhouse kick right in his gut and watching as he fell back, thumping to the ground.

"Take tha-" I stopped when something cool and metal was pressed against the back of my head.

 _Dammit... not again..._

"Crap" I muttered, hearing the Footclan Leader snicker a little.

"Think you can forget about me?" She almost cooed, and I grimaced a little.

"Well yes, kind of" I admitted, feeling her push the gun harder into the back of my head.

"I'm going to make sure I'm the last thing you'll think of before you die"

"No thanks" I muttered, hearing the gun click. Now or never...

I threw my leg back kicking her hard in the gut as I threw my head forward, hearing the gun go off as well as hearing an 'oomph' coming from her.

I heard her hit the ground as I spun, getting myself in a fighting stance and seeing as she fought to get up, gun still in her hand.

She pointed it at me again, angry now and walking back towards me.

"You little bi-" Before either of us knew what was happening, something slammed her arm upwards, hearing the gun go off again. In seconds she was down, finally seeing who had come to my rescue.

Donnie kicked the gun away from her as the others came towards me in a kind of circle. I could see the other members of the foot had been tied up and were in an awkward kind of pile in the middle of the floor. She soon joined them, tied tightly to her subordinates.

Before anyone said anything, I was grabbed and we exploded back outside, feeling a little weightless as Donnie and the others jumped across the rooftops.

 _-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-x-_

What seemed like forever later, the four stopped, and Donnie slid me gently to the ground. I didn't even get a chance to open my mouth before lips were pressed against them, arms going securely around me as I let out a sound of surprise.

He pulled away, looking down at me with worry on his features "I thought I was going to loose you"

"I'm-" I was spun around, now looking at three very unhappy turtles.

"Jade, what the _hell_ was that?" Leo snapped, folding his arms.

"Leo I-"

"You almost got yourself killed!" Raph growled, pushing my shoulder a little.

"Yeah babe, that was like... _totally_ dumb" Not even Mikey looked impressed.

"Guys, she was... she'd killed a girl my age, and she was going to-"

"We know" Donnie's warm hands were on my shoulders " We heard... but... we could have lost you..."

"I know, I just..." I sighed, looking down, suddenly feeling Donnie's hands go into my hair. It took me a second to realise he was looking at something there.

I winced when he touched a certain spot, wondering if maybe I had been grazed by that bullet.

"She's hurt" Raph didn't sound happy at all, half glaring at me when I was able to bring my head back up.

"It's... just a scratch" I told him in defense, the reality of hit starting to hit... I really could have been killed...

If that bullet gazed me, and it hurt when Donnie examined it... any closer and I could have been... could have...

My thoughts went to that poor girl. She hadn't been so lucky. Sure, we'd saved everyone else, but...

I could have been that girl... and that thought didn't help me one bit.

It definitely put things into perspective though. I wouldn't be doing something-

"Next time... you wait for us, are we _clear_?" Leo pointed a finger in my face, then indicated for us to follow him.

"Wait, what... next time?" I moved forward, grabbing his arm "You mean I can come with you... and... back you up... again?"

He turned back to me, now smirking a little.

"Yes... but only if you don't pull that kind of reckless stunt again"

I stood up straight, holding my hand up "Scouts honor. I'll be good!"

He shook his head, and I watched him leap to the next building, Mikey and Raph following him.

I turned just as Donnie came up to me, hands going onto my shoulders.

"Did you hear that Donnie? I get to do some good again!" I told him excitedly, clasping my hands together and grinning like mad.

"Jade, you almost got yourself killed... I almost lost you... it's not a game" He frowned, and the look on his face made my mood drop.

He was right, but...

"And if you do that again, I will make sure I'm the one who kicks that cute butt of yours" He moved his arms around my waist, and I was thinking he would hug me. Instead, I got a hard slap to my ass, making me yelp. I looked up at him, holding my now sore behind as he smirked, pushing his glasses up.

"Hey!"

"And that's the only warning I'll give. Next time... "

"That hurt" I looked up at him, yelping as he grabbed me by the waist, tipping me a little as he kissed me, once again taking me by surprise.

Before I could react or even return the kiss, I was back on my feet and I watched as he started to follow his brothers.

"But... hey!"

"Come on you hopeless hero!" Leo called, and I shook my head, starting to shift.

As annoying as they could sometimes be, I couldn't help but love these wonderful, amazing ninja turtles I called my friends.

 **x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

 **Hey guys, sorry if this is fast paced and a little confusing, I just wanted to something kind of sweet and of exciting all at the same time.**

 **Also, sorry if the museum isn't the same as the actual one :S I started looking it up but I can't find a good photo of it so I just made up most of it!**

 **Finally, the last part was written to the song 'Superhero' by Simon Curtis.**

 **Let me know what you think guys! Thanks and ciao! :D**


	2. Regret

**AAAAND MORE OF THIS ONE!  
**

 **-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

Events of earlier that day buzzed through my head all through dinner that night, and into our family TV watching time.

My parents knew something was up, but didn't push me for any answers thankfully as I stared at the images flashing in front of me, barely seeing any of whatever we were watching.

I knew my smallest sister, Phoebe, had climbed into my lap at some point, but other than that my mind was too focused on picking apart the events of the day.

Was there any way I could have saved that girl? Should I have said something sooner?

Could I have done anything else at that point?

Should I have shifted, become a tiger and just gone full tilt?

Should I have told the guys to hurry? Should I have just let them handle it?

So many questions went through my head, all of them without answers.

What were they doing anyway, taking hostages in a space museum of all places?

Were they-

"Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaadeee!"

A hand in my face made me jerk a little, seeing my brother Ryan there, looking almost evilly at me.

"Huh? What?"

"So that means I can have your ice cream, yeah?"

"Oh... sorry... and no" I half glared at him, grabbing the second bowl that he had in his hands, moving Phoebe just enough so I could get to it.

Tonight was cookies and cream ice cream for dessert. One of my favorites.

And, surprisingly, I had an appetite for some sugary goodness right now.

"Good, cause I don't want to have to deal with your hyped up brother all night" My mum sat beside me, Ryan's twin Tina plopping back on the other side of me now "Remember what happened last time when he had a double serving?"

"Don't remind me" Dad groaned a little, shaking his head.

"I was like... five" Ryan protested.

"Five year old maniac" I added, seeing him scowl at me. I just smiled sweetly back.

"Eight" Mum corrected "And I am glad it's been four glorious years since that incident"

Phoebe giggled from my lap, leaning back just enough so I'd have to share with her.

I didn't mind. She was too cute not to share with.

"Don't give her too much" Mum warned as my dad now started flicking channels.

"Yeah... she might go _craaaaazy_ " Ryan teased, and I threw a pillow at him. Thankfully it just bounced off his head, making him cry out as it flipped up and over the couch, disappearing somewhere behind it.

"Dear!" Mum scolded, making me turn back to my parents. It took me a second to realise my mum was actually talking to my dad.

Good to know my antics were ignored...

"What? It's the news" He responded in a confused tone.

I looked back at the TV...

"-after an attack at the space museum today, killing one teenage girl. Andrea Mills reporting live"

The happy moment was gone, my full attention on the news reporter in the screen.

She talked about the attack being unprovoked, and how there didn't seem to be any reason for this crime gang to target the museum... some more other things were said but I was more looking at the candles and flowers I saw behind her.

The image of that poor girl falling came back to me...

"Callie Weist was the only casualtiy of this senseless crime" The reporter continued, now indicating to the small display I had been looking at.

She went on about Callie... what she was like and what she enjoyed, as well as why she was at the museum that day.

She was sixteen, like me, and she seemed to enjoy the same things I did. She went to that place with her friends and dad...

"Now Dale, this is where things get interesting" The reporter perked up again, which caught my attention.

"The survivors of this horrible tragedy have reported that a lone girl came to the rescue of what would have been a second victim. So far, no one has been able to find this girl who saved a mother's life today. Many have described her as short, caucasian, with brown hair and a skinny build, around the age of fifteen to seventeen"

Ryan let out a short laugh "Hey, kinda sounds like you sis!"

I surprised even myself by letting out a small snort "Please, I'm not skinny"

"You're... curvaceous" My mum said, and dad let out a strange sound, saying something about me being fit and not that, but my attention was now back on the screen.

"-burst through the roof, although many are saying this was not part of an attack by their captors. From what the onlookers reported, they saw four very large, armored vigilantes jump down from the rooftop, engaging in a fight with these captors. They left the same way they came in, and many think that the vigilantes took this brave girl with them. The question remains though, was she kidnapped, or did she go willingly with these four?"

"They sound like they caused more trouble than anything" Dad leaned back, folding his arms. Mum had now taken our empty bowls, resting the pile in her lap as she looked at him.

"Why do you say that?" She asked.

"Well... they crash through the roof, beat up some lowly thugs, and kidnap a girl"

"Dad, they saved all those people" I protested, feeling annoyed.

"Yes, but if they weren't careful, more of those innocent people could have been hurt"

"And if they didn't do something, all of those innocent people could be dead now, and not just one!" I almost threw Phoebe onto Tina's lap, jumping to my feet. I couldn't believe I was hearing this!

"Now sweetheart-"

"No... more people could have died. It's bad enough one girl my age... died... but what if others had died? Those... _vigilantes_... risked their own lives to save other people. They could have been killed!"

Before I knew it, tears were streaking down my cheeks, feeling truly angry at my father for possibly the first time in my life.

"Jade, I wasn't trying to upset you, I just-"

In an instant, it was all gone, and I regretted getting angry at all.

"Just... nevermind. It doesn't matter..." I tried to wipe the tears away as I turned to run up the stairs.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

I knew my dad was just expressing his opinion, and he never actually meant to upset me or anyone else for that matter. Just... the thought of the turtles being seen as anything but good in my eyes was probably what got to me.

Those four did more for the city than anyone knew they did. And they never asked for credit... or anything at all... in return.

They did it save and help people of this city, and keep them safe from possibly something even worse.

And Donnie...

My sweet, gentle turtle... I couldn't see him ever going out of his way to hurt someone, or get them hurt in any way. Well, someone innocent...

The Foot sure weren't innocent though.

Still... from what the guys told me, they wouldn't target a place without good reason. This attack didn't even seem directed at luring the turtles out...

So why did they take hostages of an afternoon?

And why did a poor girl have to die for it?

The questions tumbled through my head as I lay in bed later that night, after apologizing to both parents for my outburst. Luckily, I hadn't been grounded, and they had chalked it up to us watching too much negative news, and hearing about that girl my age being killed.

Well, they were half right.

The image of the girl falling in front of me played through my head over and over, wondering what I could have done different to save her.

 _Could_ I have saved her?

She had been so close...

I finally sat up, sick of tossing and turning, looking around my room for something to do. My eyes landed on the table, which was covered with textbooks I still had to get through for school, shaking my head.

"Nooo way" I got up, stretching a little before starting to pace around my room.

I soon found that it was hard to pace with clothes and what not strewn around, deciding to tidy my room instead.

It was the only quiet thing I could think to do at eleven thirty at night.

I threw a few dirty clothes into my clothes basket, feeling tired but knowing every time I closed my eyes my mind would wander to that girl. The picture of her face on the screen... the news reporter talking about her...

Then.. the sight of her face down, in a pool of her own blood, hair strewn everywhere would hit me.

Poor girl had just been in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

She was just... just an innocent kid...

The thought half stopped me in my tracks, sitting down on the bed heavily and staring down at the small toy I'd found. It used to be one of my soft toys when I was little, but I'd given Phoebe the small pink bunny when she was old enough not to drool over it, or tear it apart. Must have been left in here the last time she-

 _Thump!_

I jumped at the sound, spinning around to find the source.

Sounded like-

I jumped again as a small tapping came from my window, spinning around and having to hold back a small yelp.

It took me a second to realise the dark figure was actually Donnie, my heart hammering in my chest as I moved to open the window.

"What are you doing here?" I half hissed as he moved silently through, backing away as he shut the window behind him.

He smiled sheepishly, not seeming to want to reply just yet.

I grabbed his arm, moving him over to my bed and making him sit down.

"You scared the heck out of me, you know that?"

"Sorry" Was his only response, then he seemed to gather himself enough to continue "I just... I wanted to see if you were okay"

"Yeah, why?" I held the small bunny tight against my chest without realising it, seeing him smirk a little.

"Fluffers... Phoebe's bunny" I explained, then "Why did you think I wouldn't be?"

"Well... I..." He scratched the back of his head a little, then moved to shift his glasses before looking back up at me.

"You seemed a little off when you left tonight... I just thought while I was out... I might..."

He suddenly turned shy, looking around my room instead. I frowned, looking down at myself and realising why he was suddenly so shy. I was still only wearing the nightshirt that I'd gone to bed in, which barely came past my hips. I blushed a little, quickly moving over to set the soft toy down on top of my dresser.

I pulled on a pair of pyjama shorts from one of the drawers, then moved to stand in front of Donnie, resting my hands on his shoulders.

"Donnie, I'm okay, really"

Now he raised an eyebrow "Then why are you cleaning your room in the middle of the night?"

Damn this turtle... I couldn't lie to him, not really. For one... I was a terrible liar, and two...

He knew me well enough by now.

I felt him put a hand gingerly on my waist, and I sighed, moving instead to sit beside him on the bed, his arm now resting on my back.

"You're kinda right. I was... thinking about that girl"

The arm at my back now went around my shoulders, pulling me into a sideways hug. I expected him to say something, instead he waited patiently for me to continue.

"She was my age. She... she had friends... had a life... and she..."

I stopped when I felt a lump in my throat, tears threatening to fall down my cheeks as I fought to get some kind of control back.

"Jade..." Were the only words out of his mouth, letting him move my face enough to look up at him.

Those sweet green eyes stared down at me with such worry and compassion...

The tears finally ran down my cheeks, taking in a deep breath as he kissed my forehead gently.

"It's okay"

"Donnie... I could have saved her. I _know_ I could have"

"I think you did all you could at the time"

I managed to loosen his hold on my face, turning away from him even as he put both arms around my waist now, pulling me close against him. The warmth of his plastron... and his big arms around me was so comforting, I almost-

"She... I saw her fall at the bottom of those stairs Donnie. She was right in front of me... I saw her alive and... and I didn't do anything when she was dragged back. She died... I could have stopped it..."

"You didn't know what they were going to do at the time, you can't blame yourself" He put his face against my hair, a strong thumb rubbing my shoulder soothingly.

"Donnie..."

"Hmm?"

"She didn't deserve it. She.. was like me. She..."

"I know"

The change in his voice made me turn to look up at him, now finding our faces were inches apart. The look in his eyes...

"You..."

"Jade, I know. I worry about that every day. I... was... worried, when that gun went off..."

I fell silent, seeing him frown. Those big eyes...

"I thought... they'd hurt or possibly killed you. All because we... you went to do recon for us..."

I kissed my sweet turtle then, feeling him make a sound of surprise before returning the kiss.

My arms went up to his neck, resting just at the nape as he pulled me closer.

Slowly, I pulled away, resting my cheek against his as we caught our breath.

"I'm sorry for worrying you. But... I just... I don't want to see anyone else be hurt while I'm around. When I can help" I managed to get out, and he sighed a little.

"I know but... I don't want to loose you"

"You won't... I promise I'll be more careful next time... if there _is_ a next time"

"Good" He moved to kiss my forehead again, and I managed to get my arms up and around his neck, pulling him in for a hug which he happily returned.

"I just wish I knew what they were after"

"We all do. Hopefully we'll work it out before they attack next. I am half wondering if this was an isolated incident, or if-"

He stopped talking when pulled back, an idea forming in my head.

Donnie saw my look, tilting his head to the side a little. He knew... he knew I was up to something.

"Whaaat's going through your head?"

"Well... the news reporter said they were having a candlelight vigil for the girl tomorrow night. Maybe..."

"I... don't think that's a good idea" He shook his head "Someone might recognize you-"

"I wouldn't go as myself, and I wouldn't go alone. It would be a good opportunity to get some of your tech in to scan the place a little more. To find out what they might have actually been after"

Donnie frowned, shaking his head.

"We can ask Leo tomorrow, and if he says it's a bad idea we won't do it" I continued, and he sighed.

"All right... but you better listen to Leo if he says no"

I nodded sincerely, putting a hand to my heart "I solemnly swear I will follow his command. And... maybe yours"

The look on his face told me he still wasn't entirely convinced, but knew it was easier to just let it go.

"So... should I leave so you can sleep?"

I shook my head "No... doubt I'll be sleeping tonight anyway"

A smile formed on his face then, which made me worry.

"Well... I can always stay and help you with your homework"

"Donnie" I warned, shaking my head.

"What? It'll be easy-"

"No, not-"

"Come on, it'll take no time at all with-"

I quickly silenced him by grabbing his face in my hands and kissing him hard. Slowly, he returned it, pulling me close again.

I had the feeling this wouldn't distract him for long though. He would continue to pester me about homework until I either gave in, or went to bed.

Why oh why, did I have to fall for the smart one?

 **x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

 **What do you guys think?**

 **I know, I wanted to continue this cause I had this idea in my head.**

 **Well, a few, as you may see later on!**

 **Please feel free to tell me! Ta!**


	3. A Touch Of Trouble!

**And now... BOW TO MEEE!  
**

 **And I have finally decided that this will be a separate story to my crossovers, so I can play around more with it.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

 **-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** **x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

I put my hand over the flickering light of the candle, slightly annoyed when the wind once again tried to blow my auburn locks into the small flame. I flicked them back again, almost loosing the small light as I tried to feebly cover it with my long, slender fingers.

I had become a girl I'd seen in my old school back when I first moved to America. She had caught my attention for some reason, but I couldn't work out why. And I figured, since I saw her so often and studied the way she looked, that she would be the best choice for my shapshift tonight. After all, no one would know who she was... or so I hoped.

My shift in itself wasn't perfect, because I couldn't really remember everything about her, but it was good enough that I looked nothing like my actual short, brown haired self. She was tall, with long auburn hair and brown eyes. She had been tall and skinny, with a slightly crooked smile from what I remembered.

It felt strange to be her, but it was better than being noticed as myself.

The hair though, was starting to bother me out in the open. The wind was picking up the tiniest wisps, and sending them towards my little candle flame, which I had to keep putting back behind my shoulders. Well... the girls hair. I couldn't wait to tie it back, but I knew if I did that now then people would see the little device I had in my ear.

There was a huge crowd tonight, all of them standing quietly as some lady spoke on the makeshift stage, droning on about how grateful she was that so many people came to this event, and so forth. I wasn't really listening, more so because I was trying to avoid being flattened like a pancake by the people around me. I was just glad I was near the back...

Also, I was trying to keep people from getting too close to hit the heavy backpack I was wearing, which was loaded with Donnie's tech. It was starting to get to a point where I'd probably have to put it down soon, or start moving through the crowd.

As you might have guessed, I pitched the idea to Leo, who surprisingly agreed wholeheartedly with me. He figured that if we could find out what they were after, we could predict and possibly prevent more of these senseless attacks. Only... this time, I would have my own personal bodyguard shadowing me.

After much discussion, it was agreed that Raph would be the one to keep an eye on me. Leo needed to be on the roof with Donnie, instructing and guiding the rest of us, and Donnie had to be focused on the security and gathering any information we could get from the devices I had to set up. And... well, Mikey is Mikey... I say no more.

"All right Jade, are you ready to move?" Leo asked from somewhere on one of the rooftops, but I knew he would be able to see the slight nod I gave.

"Okay, there's a security guard at four o clock from you. He's close to one of the entrances-"

"Four o'clock? But she's not on a-"

"Shut up Mikey!" I heard the older brothers snap, unable to hold in a small smirk, before wiping it away from my face and putting my head down, careful not to set my hair alight.

I slowly blew the candle out, trying to move as quickly and quietly through the crowd, trying not to sway too much from the weight of the bag. Although, the swaying might come in handy...

I managed to get through the crowd, moving towards the fairly buff looking guard, trying to look as timid and non menacing as possible. Although, I looked like any other school student, with the uniform as well.

Mikey managed to grab one from the private school she'd gone to. I prefer not to wonder how he got it though.

"Um, excuse me" I said in the smooth, soft voice which was no where near my actual voice, pulling my at the bottom of my skirt a little, the other hand over my stomach.

The guard now looked at me, steely blue eyes locking onto mine, his jaw set.

"I-I'm really sorry, but could I please go and use the bathroom? I... I really don't feel well..."

"Sorry miss, this section is off limits" Came the almost immediate reply.

"Just for a minute, I feel really sick... I...I'm... " I pretended to gag, putting a hand over my mouth to try and stop the imagery puke from coming up.

"She's so good... and she would look so cute as herslef in that short little sk-ow!" Donnie yelped a little, and I had to force back a small giggle as I bent down, pretending to gag again instead. I could only guess Leo had given him a good slap.

I saw the guard's shoes move back, and I pretended to get control of myself, still half bent over as I looked at him, putting on the best hurt face I could manage. The look on the guard's face was somewhere between confusion and shock.

"Please, I-"

"All right, all right, but... just this once" He pulled out his key card with one hand, the other wrapping around my skinny arm as he guided me into the building, shutting the door behind us.

I tried to keep up the act of feeling sick, feeling him almost tug me quickly along to what I guessed was the ladies bathroom, opening the door with one hand as he ushered me in with the other. I half turned to look at him, finally seeing a concerned look on his hard features.

"Just... don't be long, all right?" Then he shut the door, and I was all alone in the brightly lit room.

"He's probably still just outside the door" Leo's voice crackled through the earpiece as I dropped the bag as quietly as possible, grabbing a hair tie and shoving the annoying long hair back into a bun of sorts. Thankfully I could still use my thought speak in my human shifted form.

(I'm well aware of that, that's why I'm not heading back out that door) I told him, instead moving over to gently lock it from the inside, thankful it had a lock in the first place. From what I could hear, the guard hadn't heard the small click.

"There's an air vent in that room, you should be able to get in there" Donnie reported, and I could almost imagine him tapping away on his little screen.

(One sec) I grabbed the recorder I had hidden in my chest pocket, moving into one of the stalls and pressing play, turning the volume up as loud as possible. Immediately it sounded like someone was being sick, putting it on the back of the toilet, hearing a short groan from outside the door.

"Wow... you really recorded someone throwing up?" Mikey seemed surprised as well as mildly fascinated.

(No... it was online. I figured we'd need it, so I recorded it off a... website) I shook my head, looking around the room now and spotting the air vent Donnie was telling me about.

"Weird" Was Leo's response "Some people are just... strange"

(Pretty much) I agreed as I slowly got up on the edge of the sink, moving to reach it, finding I could just grab onto the sides. I gave it a sharp yank, almost falling backwards. The vent however, hardly budged.

(Where's Raph when you need him?) I grumbled, yanking again and feeling it start to give just a little. I tried to make sure it didn't make too much noise, knowing it would be all over if the guard heard anything too loud.

"Somewhere inside. We lost visual the same time as you went in"

(Great) I yanked again, barely managing to stay upright as the cover finally came off, turning it over and putting it gingerly down on one of the sinks. It was then I realised...

(Huh, looks like he's already been here and gone) I got down off the edge of the sink, picking up the one of the small screws that had obviously been holding the vent cover in place. The other three were scattered randomly on the floor.

"Uh... miss?"

I jumped, realising I'd completely forgotten about the guard.

"Uh yeah?" I managed shakily, grateful the recording stopped at almost the same time. I rushed over, playing with the recorder and flushing the toilet.

"Are you... all right in there?"

"Uh... yeah, I'll just... be out... oh no..." At that time I pressed play on the recorder again, and I heard the guard make a strange noise.

"Well played" I heard a slight snicker in Leo's voice as I grabbed the bag, hauling it up onto the counter with all my might, before getting back up on the edge of the sink, feeling the skirt ride up a little, pulling it down again slightly before I made another grab for the bag. I hauled it into the air vent, pushing it in just enough so I could climb in as well, having to jump a little and knowing if anyone had been behind me... well, it would have been very embarrassing.

"I am _never_ wearing a skirt again!" I hissed, knowing the boys could hear me, hearing Mikey giggle.

"But babe, you look so-oomph!" I crawled into the vent, pushing the bag along as I listened to what I could only guess was Mikey trying to get away from Donnie's grasp, and the sounds of Leo finally pulling them apart.

"Guys? Let me know when you're done, cause I kind of need directions here" I finally said, glad to be able to finally communicate with an actual voice again, stopping and looking left and right down the air vent.

"Oh! Uh..." I heard Donnie mumbling to himself, then "Go left, then take a right at the end. It should bring you to another air vent cover you can take off"

"Thanks Donnie" I carefully shuffled myself in the right direction, now dragging the bag along with me. It was slow, and my whole body was aching from the effort and the confined space, but I knew I had to keep going. After all, I'd made it this far, and it was kind of my idea...

I did half wonder where Raph was, but knew he couldn't be too far off, after finding the vent open like that. Must have used his Sai's to screw them loose...

"Okay, looks like you're almost there"

"Good, cause this place is starting to creep me out"I muttered, finally seeing the next vent and finding I wasn't as lucky with this one. The screws were still tightly in place. I'd have to try and get them out myself somehow.

"Donnie, the vent... its screwed tightly in place.. help" I tried to twist them with my fingers from the inside, finding it was no use. I just couldn't get a good grip from this angle.

"There should be a small magnet in that bag, in the front pocket" Was his response, and as I moved to look "You should be able to get them out that way"

"My boyfriend" I chuckled a little as I pulled out the small rectangular shaped magnet "Thinks of everything"

I heard his cute little snort, unable to stop a smile from my face as I moved to put it against the first screw, hearing it clunk as it attached itself, starting to slowly turn. I was surprised when I felt the screw loosen just enough, pulling the magnet back and hearing the distinctive _tink_ sound as it hit the floor.

"Oh Jade, you should see your boy here" Mikey giggled again, hearing Donnie let a sound of protest "He's all like, blushing and-"

"Mikey!" I heard another scuffle, shaking my head as I continued with my task, finally moving myself enough so I could kick at the cover, hearing it thunk to the floor.

"Be careful Jade, someone might have heard that!" Leo half snapped now, probably also annoyed with his brothers being silly at a time like this.

"Sorry Leo, I didn't mean it" I told him, shimmying myself out of the vent, grabbing the bag as I did and managing to get on a small table, before landing with the bag as quickly and quietly on the floor as I could manage. I scurried behind a large structure, hiding myself and putting the bag down next to me as I did.

"Just... be more quiet next time" His anger seemed to have vanished, instead hearing irritation in his voice. Mikey and Donnie had gone silent now.

"Okay" I whispered, listening for any sign of being heard. I don't think I even breathed for at least a minute, listening intently, but only hearing dead silence all around me.

"Doesn't look like that noise attracted anyone, thankfully" Leo said, relief in his voice as I got up and crept back into the hallway I'd landed in. It was a big hallway, filled with displays of this and that. I shivered a little, thinking this looked like the set of a horror movie.

And I was dressed for the genre too...

"Go left, there should be a doorway just down the hall you can get into. I should be able to open it so you can get in" Donnie's voice made me jump a little, sighing and pulling the bag back onto my shoulders, slowly moving down the hallway.

I jumped when I heard a small click, realising Donnie had just unlocked a door near me, moving to pull the handle down and go inside.

I shut the door, turning to see he'd placed me in a room with security cameras, noticing half of them were down.

"Open the door for a sec, and put the bag down" Donnie instructed, and I did as he said, everything seeming to fade back into silence. I felt like I was just waiting for some kind of horrible freak of a monster to-

"Drone activated!"

I let out a soft yelp, jumping back and landing on my butt as the familiar green drone almost exploded out of the bag. It seemed confused for a minute, before heading out the door and disappearing left down the hallway.

"Jeez, don't scare me like that!" I snapped, covering my mouth and realising I'd almost yelled, jumping up and shutting and locking the door.

"Sorry" He muttered, obviously distracted. Damn ninja...

"All right, do you see the big computer to the right of you?"

I looked right, almost jumping when I saw the beast. It must have been what was running all these monitors, and the security system. It stood about head height, with wires coming out of everywhere, and several lights flashing randomly from time to time.

"Yeaah?"

"Pull out the blue box still in the bag, and find a way to connect it to that computer. I should be able to get into their inventory systems, to see if there's anything they recently brought into this museum that might-"

"But this is the security-"

"It should still be linked to the rest of their system, I just need a port to access-"

"All right, I get it" I interrupted him, knowing he was now in full tech mode, doing as he asked and finding a USB port to connect his device to.

"So what's the drone for then?"

"Well, I figure-" I heard Donnie and Leo talking, but their voices were drowned out as I saw a shadow go past an area that looked to be almost on the other side of the building. It looked like Raph...

Then my blood ran cold as I saw another, now more familiar room. That room... it wasn't that far away from where I was now.

I don't know why, but something was drawing me to that room, and I moved to open the door, taking another look at the monitors and plotting a path there.

"Uh, Jade? Where are you going?" Donnie's asked as I went down the hallway, turning the corner and moving as quietly as I could.

"I just... I thought I saw Raph" I muttered, knowing it was at least half true. I'd seen a figure, but... it looked to be in a different direction to me.

"Jade, I don't think you should be-"

"I'll be careful Leo. I'll find Raph and head back to that room" I told him, not even believing myself at that point. And I was sure that Leo-

"All right, just... be quick. And if you run into anyone besides-"

"I know, hide and be a good girl"

I heard him make a weird throaty sound, before he started to talk to Donnie about something.

My heart was now thudding against my rib cage as I finally reached the still destroyed room. I was surprised that everything was still as it was, and nothing had been cleaned up. Glass was still everywhere, and-

I sucked in a deep breath as, even in the darkness, I could see the dark spot where there was still a pool of blood. From when...

I shook my head, knowing it probably wouldn't do me any good, instead looking slowly around the room. I hadn't really had a chance to take in what was around me, realising it was much bigger than I originally thought it was.

There were quite a few large exhibits in here, and the room itself was more circular in design.

Even with all the objects in this room, my eyes landed once again on that puddle on the floor. Sure, the girl's body had been removed, but...

Why hadn't they cleaned this place yet? Why hadn't-

"Jade" Leo's soft voice got my attention.

"Yeah?"

"I... don't think you should be in that room alone" There was concern there, and as much as I appreciated it...

"He's right. You should get back to the security room. You might need to grab my equipment and run if they realise I'm in their system"

Of course, he was worried too. He knew I was probably staring, wondering...

"O-okay" Was all I could think to say, managing to finally tear my eyes away from that spot, turning and walking out of the room. Away from the memories I still couldn't shake.

"Whoa" Donnie's voice came through again not long after, and when hearing the tone, I picked up my pace back to the security room. Something was wrong...

"Whoa what?" I asked, but he still seemed to be in his own world, muttering something I couldn't quite hear now.

"This can't be right"

"What is it Donnie?" Leo now, seeing the final corner not far ahead of me. I was almost back to the room.

As I started to go around the corner, I felt the presence of someone behind me, figuring that Raph had finally caught up.

"I was beginning to think you'd never-" I stopped then, seeing a glint of something in the person's hands, realising it wasn't a Sai they were carrying.

And they were _way_ to short to be Raph.

"Who the _hell_ are _you?_!" Came the voice of the person, half wondering if it was the guard from before, but...

No, something about the way he stood... and spoke..

"I... I'm Tina" I managed to get out, surprised my middle sisters name was the first one that popped into my head, holding my hands up as I now seeing it was a gun that was pointed at me.

The man was tall and stocky, so it surprised me that he would be holding a gun towards a defenseless girl for one thing, but something else about him was just... well, off.

"What are you doing in here in the middle of the night?!" He snapped, almost accusing it seemed.

"I... I came in here to use the restroom, and I... I got lost"

"Lies"

I just stared, not sure what this guys problem was, but not wanting to tick him off any more than he already seemed to be.

"Who are you, _really?_ And how much do you know about it?"

Now I was really confused.

"A-about what?"

"Don't mess with me!" He moved until he was only a few feet from me, the gun pointed directly at my forehead.

This guy was crazy!

"Leo, we gotta"

"No, Raph will-"

"But he's like... not there!"

I heard all this in my ear as I tried to figure out what to do. This guy obviously wasn't in his right mind, but I knew I he wasn't exactly someone I could expose myself to. So anything I did, had to be with the body I had now.

"I-I'll get the drone, maybe it can distract him long enough for Jade to-"

"There's no time!"

"Well we can't just do _nothing!_!"

"Donn-"

"I'm directing it to her location!"

"Oh this is bad dudes!"

"Where the _hell_ is Raph?!" Leo almost roared now, and I instinctively twitched a little.

Unfortunately the movement didn't go unnoticed by my new friend.

"What? What's that?! Is that a... who the hell are you communicating with?!"

"People that will come after you with all they have if you use that gun on me"

The moment I said those words, I regretted them.

I heard Donnie let out an angry growl, then "Don't _antagonize_ him, you idiot!"

I wanted to tell him I didn't plan to, but the guy now started moving forward, making me jump and start to move back.

As I did, my weirdly long legs got tangled, and I toppled backwards, my back hitting the polished floor with a horrid thud.

I tried to get up, only getting as far as into a sitting position before I realised the guy was over me, one leg on either side of my waist as he aimed the gun down, right between my eyes.

I really wasn't having much luck when it came to people with guns lately.

His voice shook and his hand trembled as he looked down at me, seeing almost black eyes glaring.

"I... can't have you telling others about this..."

"JADE!"

"NO!"

At that exact moment, I noticed the black figure looming behind the guy, seeing thick fingers grab the wrist that held the gun, yanking it almost painfully up it seemed, hearing the guy let out a strangled cry.

I could have sworn I saw his mouth drop he was turned, then I heard a distinct thump as the figure headbutted him. I watched the figure toss the now unconscious guy away, finally coming into a small sliver of light.

"Well that was-"

"You!" A finger was now in my face, seeing the familiar red bandanna "You need to stop runnin off on me! I didn't know which way you went, and then I find..." He jabbed his other thumb at the unmoving figure on the floor near us.

"Hey! I couldn't even find you!" I protested, even as he helped me off the floor "I thought you were all the way over on-"

"Doesn't matter! You need to stop getting yourself into trouble!"

"Hey! I didn't go looking it ya know!" I retorted, poking his chest a little and making him grunt "Trouble... just seems to have a homing beacon on me or... something"

In spite of my outburst, I was glad Raph showed up when he did... and I could hear the others were too.

"Ohmygodthatwassoclose" I heard Donnie mumble out as Leo growled something and Mikey almost seemed to be cheering.

"What?" Raph looked at me strangely.

"Just... nevermind. Let's just go get Donnie's equipment and get out of here, yeah?" I asked, patting his shoulder a little. He nodded, and we both started to head back down the hallway and back to the security room.

After a few moments of silence, Raph chuckled a little.

"Whaaat's so funny?" I asked him, seeing him look me up and down, then chuckle again.

"That skirt-"

"Oh don't _you_ start!" I pushed his shoulder as hard as I could, barely moving him. I heard him let out a deep laugh now, and I knew what was coming.

"Rach is gonna have a field day when she hears about this!"

All I could do was groan in response.

 **x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

 **Phew, another long chapter!  
**

 **Hope this was entertaining for you guys at least! Let me know!**

 **Thanks heaps, ciao!**


	4. More Questions Than Answers

**MOVING ON!  
**

 **-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** **x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

I held Donnie's little blue box tighter to my chest as I sat on the computer chair, feeling the school uniform was a little tight on me now I was back to myself. I shifted uncomfortably, staring down at my bare knees, finding it was the only thing I could focus on right now.

After encountering the maniac, I was seriously starting to doubt my usefulness in these missions. Both times... I was sent in to do recon only... and both times it had ended with a gun pointed at my head.

We had grabbed Donnie's little box, and gotten out of there as soon as the drone came back to us. It was one of Donnie's newest little toys, that he had put a lot of effort into it, so we knew we couldn't leave the little thing behind. But now...

I squeezed the metal box tighter, part of my mind knowing I couldn't squeeze too tightly, or I'd break it. I could hear the guys talking not far from me, but nothing seemed to be getting through right now.

I honestly felt like a failure. I'd screwed up _twice_ now, and it was the turtles who had to deal with my... mess of sorts.

Planet stealing aliens I could handle, and I was fairly decent at it.

Thugs and just normal crazy people... not so much.

It was entirely new territory, and I had no idea how to handle it _or_ myself right now.

I just hoped the guys could-

"Jade?" A gentle voice as Donnie appeared in front of me, a hand now gingerly on one of my knees. The warmth made me look up at him, seeing him tilt his head to the side a little as our eyes met.

"Are you-"

"Oh!" It was then I realised I still had his device, figuring he'd probably need it and moving to hand it to him"Here, sorry I kept-"

"That's all right" He took the device with his other hand, putting it aside as both hands landed back on my knees. He squeezed them gently, smiling a little.

"I thought you might want to hear about what we found" He then moved to grab my hands, and I let him pull me to my feet, surprised when he lead me over to the others now. Leo was standing, his arms folded in front of him and his jaw set with worry. Raph looked pretty on edge, and even Mikey didn't seem his usual bubbly self, which got me worried.

"So... uh..."

"You did good Jade" Leo spoke now, his features softening a little as he came to pat my shoulder "I know it wasn't easy tonight, but... thank you"

I blinked, unable to really take in Leo's words.

"Yeah, you did good babe" Mikey grinned again as Donnie led me to the couch and sat me down now, sitting next to me as the others moved around.

"Uh, thanks?"

I looked at Raph, expecting a lecture, instead I got a strange little huff, then "You were aright"

I smiled, in spite of myself "Thanks Raph"

"All right, let's get back to it then" Leo nodded at Donnie, who returned the gesture before turning to me.

"What we found-"

"Or didn't find" Raph grunted, but a look from Leo shut him up, watching him move away out of the corner of my eye. I heard a the start of a steady thumping, realising he'd gone to take his aggression out on the punching bag instead.

"Okay..." I started slowly, turning back to the others "What did...or didn't... we find"

"Well, from what we can work out, the hold up in the museum _was_ a diversion. From what Donnie-" Leo stopped then, nodding at Donnie, who picked up where he left off.

"It looks like they took two things from the space museum" Donnie brought up his little screen, almost blinding me with it, before realising what he'd done and turned it to the space in front of the couch "One looks like some kind of rock structure, which only just arrived there. They had it in storage, but what the information says about it... there are components in the structure that they've never seen before"

Donnie brought up a picture of it, zooming in so I could get a better look.

"Almost looks like a moon rock or something" I pondered, looking at Donnie. He nodded a little.

"We thought that too but... well, look at this" He pointed, zooming the picture in just a little more to see a smooth structure embedded in the rock.

"What is _that_?"

"We don't know, but it must be important enough for the Foot to want to steal it" Leo shook his head, starting to pace.

"The other is a little more interesting" Donnie was working away again, seeing images flashing away on his screen as Mikey now sat on one side of the couch, and Leo eventually came to sit on the other, beside me. Even Raph went quiet now, which worried me.

"This..." He brought up another photo, and my heart skipped a beat.

Could it be...

"No... no way" I went to go grab my communicator, but Donnie stopped me, sitting me back down beside him.

"It's not from Ithiell's ship, don't worry" Donnie told me, doing something else on his screen. I felt Leo put a hand on my shoulder as I looked at what he was showing me.

It was a large piece of what I could have sworn was a Chanaiben fighter, the back wing, but...

"This piece has been in the museum for years, just in a more secured area. They were only just starting to study-"

"But... how?" Was all I could ask "Chanaibens only ever landed in Australia, from what I was told, and that was to drive the Terinans off it. I don't know what was so great about my country, but... how could it..."

"It very well could just be debris that fell out of the sky. You did say there were space battles when you were fighting those guys" Donnie brought up, but I shook my head.

"No, look at it Donnie. Where are the scorch marks?"

He hummed, but didn't say anything else, and I felt Leo lean in a little.

"Hmm, Jade's right. But if that's the case, it means they probably found it down on earth and didn't know what to do with it. That... or..."

"Or they managed to snag it from space, but that's impossible" Donnie muttered, looking down at me as he closed his blue screen.

"Jade, is it possible there are some stragglers around the planet?" Leo asked, turning me to look at him.

"I-I don't know. If there are... then..." I somehow found myself staring down at my knees again, trying to piece it all together in my head.

"More aliens bro... not cool" Mikey muttered, all of us going quiet.

"Why would they want a rock and a piece of the back end of a small alien fighter?"

"They're plannin something...and I bet it's big" Raph was back, pacing around the four of us, sounding edgy.

"Donnie, I need you to start doing a search for any places that might be holding objects similar to these these. We need to get ahead on these guys, and fast"

"On it" Donnie was up and gone before I could blink, sitting down at his desk, his fingers flying.

"Until we can work out if they're going to hit another place, there's not much more we can do tonight" Leo stood up, stretching. As he did, Mikey jumped onto the seat beside me, smiling almost expectantly at me. I could tell he was about to pull out a cheesy joke-

"What about that guy that attacked her?" Raph grunted, coming up and standing in front of Leo.

Leo looked almost confused "What about him?"

"Hey yeah, Raph's got a point" I looked up at the two, my eyes landing on Leo "That guy was ready to kill me, and he didn't even _know_ me"

Leo seemed to consider "He definitely sounds like a wild card in all this... did he say what he was doing there, or hint at anything?"

"Well he definitely wasn't a security guard" I leaned forward, clasping my hands together.

"The only thing he really said that was weird was asking me how much I knew about... _it_. Although I really don't know what _it_ is or _was_ "

"He sure wanted to kill her just to stop her talkin"

"Well... do you remember what he looked like?"

I froze, realizing I really didn't get a good look at him. It was like my mind was trying to erase the memory, to save me some grief or something.

"Um... all I know was that he was tall, and kind of well built. Its why I mistook him for Raph at first"

"Well that doesn't really help us" Leo rubbed his brow a little, suddenly looking exhausted.

"Dude, he almost like... really hurt her"

"I know" He looked sadly down at me "But if we don't know what he looks like, we can't find him. We should just be grateful that he doesn't know who you really are, and didn't see... well, you"

"But the guy's still-"

"We know Raph, back off" Leo growled a little, and the two stood inches apart, both of them scowling at one another.

Well, this wasn't good. Raph looked about ready to throw a punch, and I knew... well, I knew I had to step in before he did.

"Hey, hey" I jumped up, squeezing myself in between them and using all the strength I had to push them apart. Unfortunately I barely moved either of them, now squished between the two.

"He doesn't care-"

"Raph" I turned to him, pushing on his plastron as hard as I could, using my back to try and move Leo "He's right. Neither of us got a good look at the guy. So there is no way to track him. And he didn't get a look at the real me either, so I should be safe"

He went to move away from me, but I grabbed the belt that ran across his chest, stopping him in his tracks.

"Jade, what-" He looked almost scared as I smiled up at him now.

"Raph... thanks for looking out for me though. I'm so glad I've got a friend like you"

I wanted to hug him, but I knew he was still too wound up and it might arc him up more. Instead, I patted his plastron, letting him go and watching as he backed away. We watched as he moved to head out, grumbling to himself, before I turned to Leo.

"And Leo, Raph has made me think. I mean... this guy, whoever he is... he's not part of the Foot. But that means we might have someone else to look out for"

Leo seemed to think about this for a moment, before nodding a little.

"Then we'll just have to make sure we're on high alert the next time we go on a mission"

"Okay, the search is set up, although it might take a few hours" Donnie came back, lifting his glasses and rubbing his eyes a little.

I heard Mikey yawn, realising how tired we all were. Even Leo looked beat.

"Well, I think it's time we all get some rest. Tomorrow night we'll continue our search"

"Sounds good" Mikey was rubbing his eyes, reminding me of a little kid as he moved towards his room.

"Hopefully we don't have another... incident" Donnie sighed, sharing a look with Leo.

"Well until then, we rest" I was surprised when he turned to me, smiling then.

"You too. We might need you again tomorrow"

I think my heart stopped then, my jaw dropping a little.

"But... Leo... I..."

"You did good tonight. We were able to get inside, and get information because of what you did"

I felt like I was starting to panic, part of me wanting to join them again, but the fear that I could possibly screw up again overcoming it each time.

"L-Leo, I really messed up, made so made mistakes..."

He shook his head, and I saw Donnie now off to the side of us, in a strange kind of half circle.

"Nonsense, we all make mistakes" Leo grinned that fearless grin he had, and I felt even more confused.

"Leo, I don't-"

"Jade" Now Donnie spoke, and I turned to him as he rested a hand on my back "You're just not used to fighting... well, _normal_ humans"

"Donnie's right" Leo now stepped forward, patting my shoulder a little "You'll get there. Think of it as... a learning curve"

"Leo, I really don't-"

"Jade" Leo's eyes met mine, a seriousness in them now "You're an important part of this team now, and don't you forget that"

I was... a part of the team?

I honestly didn't know what to say to that.

"And you might be able to help us solve this puzzle. I mean, if there's more aliens like Ithiell out there, we could possibly have more allies" Donnie perked up, almost sounding hopeful.

I had to admit, it would be nice to have more people on our side. Especially the helpful, not trying to take over the world kind like Ithiell and Rtaia were.

"Now go get some rest. We'll give you a call if Donnie finds something"

"You... guys..."

"You heard him, go home... and... call me when you get there" Donnie smiled, moving me towards the door.

"But what if-"

"Unless... you want an escort home" Now Donnie had a sly look on his face, and I heard Leo laugh a little.

"Well, no, I-"

"Just take her to the surface" Leo told him, waving at me "Goodnight Jade"

"Oh, uh... goodnight"

I let Donnie take me back up the surface, surprised at how late it actually was. I'd never get to sleep now...

"Goodnight... beautiful" Donnie muttered, wrapping his arms around me and kissing me. I returned it, melting into the kiss.

For a turtle, he was an amazing kisser...

Soon, he moved back, ending the kiss and letting me rest my head on his plastron.

"Donnie, I..." How could I tell my beloved turtle that I was feeling so torn?

From what Leo said, it sounded like they really did need me for this. I was probably the only one that had experience with Chanaibens that weren't my friends. They could-

"Now, are you going to go home, or do you need me to carry you there" Donnie's voice was soft, almost husky, his actions denying his words as he held me closer.

"I... I'm going" I half lied to myself, enjoying his warmth too much. My mind was still going a mile a minute-

"Jade?" He finally moved back, making me do the same to look up at him. A soft smile played his lips, shifting his glasses up again.

"Hmmm?" I stayed quiet, waiting for him to say what was on his mind.

"That skirt... you should wear them more often. They..." He looked shy now, looking away a little "You look very... hot... in them"

My cheeks started to burn, my breath caught in my throat as I backed away a little. Donnie had just...

"That's it... I...I... I'm burning this thing... I think..." I stepped back, already starting to shift into owl.

"Jade, I didn't mean to-" He moved forward to touch me, then seemed to rethink it and backed off.

(I know) I looked up at him now, flaring my wings and starting to lift off the ground (Goodnight Donnie, I love you)

"Love you too" He smiled at me, watching as I took off into the night.

 **x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

 **Embarrassing teenage moment!Heheee!  
**

 **I know this wasn't action-y, but NOW things will get interesting!  
**

 **Feel free to review and tell me what you think!**

 **Oh, and just so you know... I don't know what's in museums in America, so sorry if I'm a little off with what's in there :(**


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